Effect of salinity adaptation on nitrogen metabolism in the freshwater fish Tilapia mossambica. I. Tissue protein and amino acid levels

Water, proteins and total free amino acids were estimated in different tissues of the euryhaline fish Tilapia mossambica after adaptation to various strenghts of sea water. The water content did not vary significantly in any tissue on salinity adaptation. The soluble and insoluble proteins displayed a general and considerable decrease in muscle, liver and heart; the decrease in the soluble fraction in the heart and the proteins of the muscle in 75% sea water (100% sea water=32.5 S) were significant. The gill proteins did not alter with salinity; the kidney proteins tended to increase slightly in 100% sea water (SW). The total free amino-acid content decreased insignificantly in all tissues on adaptation to 25% SW; in higher salinities, however, the content increased significantly. This increase was sudden and steep in 50% SW, and gradual and less steep in 75 and 100% SW. It is suggested that constancy in water content may contribute to the great adaptability of T. mossambica to heterosmotic media, and that the total free amino acids may be involved in isosmotic intracellular regulation. The possibility of amino acid increase as a result of protein breakdown is also indicated.     

Kinetics of osmoregulation in the crab Carcinus maenas

When shore crabs Carcinus maenas are transferred from 11 to 38 S at 11°C, new constant levels of hemolymph freezing points and of concentrations of Na, K, Ca, and Mg in the hemolymph are accomplished within 24h. From a decrease in serum protein and in serum free amino acids and an increase in the relative amounts of individual essential free amino acids in the body fluids of whole crabs, a participation of proteolytic activities and a transport of amino acids from hemolymph to cell is deduced; the stationary concentration of total intracellular free amino acids increases up to a nearly two-fold value, compared with the concentration in crabs remaining in diluted sea water. Also, the low molecular neutral sugars increase in whole crabs after high salinity stress, reaching values of more than two-fold initial concentrations within a period of 10 days. This increase is fully accounted for by a 6.7-fold increase in trehalose levels. The processes of increasing the concentrations of low molecular organic material seem to be slower than those of establishing new osmotic pressures in the hemolymph. The oxygen consumption decreases by 30 to 45% to new constant values within 8 to 12 h after the salinity change from 11 to 38, reflecting similar kinetics as the establishment of new osmotic pressures in the hemolymph.     

Myosin ATPase activity in an estuarine decapod crustacean,Scylla serrata,as a function of salinity adaptation

The myosin ATPase activity of the flexor muscle of an estuarine crab, Scylla serrata, was studied in relation to salinity adaptation. The enzyme is activated more by calcium than by magnesium; it exhibits maximum activity at pH 9.0, and substrate inhibition above 0.5 mM ATP. The enzyme activity increases in crabs adapted to higher salinities. The enzyme from normal (70% sea water) crabs shows two pH optima; one at pH 7.0, the other at pH 9.0. The neutral optimum shifts to pH 6.0 upon adaptation to full strength sea water, but disappears upon adaptation to 25% sea water. The enzyme from normal crabs shows an optimum at 30 °C; adaptation to full strength sea water raises this optimum to 38 °C, whereas adaptation to 25% sea water decreases it to 24 °C. These changes are discussed in relation to estuarine conditions.     

Effects of size upon salinity tolerance and volume regulation in the hermit crab Pagurus bernhardus

Whereas small Pagurus bernhardus (L.) occur in large numbers in the intertidal areas of rocky shores, large hermit crabs living in whelk shells are most uncommon, although they are easily collected by sublittoral dredging. Experiments were carried out to assess the salinity tolerance, and the ability to regulate body volume in a dilute medium, of both small and large hermit crabs. Large, offshore hermit crabs are significantly less tolerant of 60% sea water (100%=34 S) than small, littoral specimens. Small littoral crabs increase in weight by about 15% in the first hour in 60% sea water, but increased urine output prevents swelling thereafter; indeed, there is considerable loss in weight, presumably caused by solute loss. Large, offshore, crabs increase in weight by about 15% in the first hour, thus exhibiting a higher permeability to water than small crabs, and continue to increase in weight, since urine output is not sufficient to cope with the water load. Dissections suggest that insufficient release of urine causes the low urine output in large hermit crabs, rather than inadequate production of primary urine. Calculations indicate that the nephropores of large hermit crabs are too small to allow a sufficiently high urine output to remove a large water load, unless greater pressures are developed inside the excretory systems of large hermit crabs than occur in those of small littoral individuals. In view of the soft, flexible nature of the walls of the excretory system and abdomen of P. bernhardus, it seems unlikely that high pressures could be maintained within the excretory system. It is concluded that the stenohalinity of large, offshore hermit crabs may exclude them from the littoral zone, or may be the result of exclusion by other factors, since there will be no selective advantage for large hermit crabs in maintaining the degree of euryhalinity possessed by the small littoral crabs, if the large crabs are confined to the sublittoral zone.     

Comparison of osmoregulation between Adriatic and North Sea Carcinus

In two spatially isolated species — North Sea Carcinus maenas L. and Adriatic Carcinus mediterraneus Czerniavsky —osmoconcentration in hemolymph and Na-transport were investigated. The experiments were performed on crabs which had been long-term acclimated to sea water (1190 mOsmol/l) and to 50% sea water, and on individuals immediately after transfer from sea water to 50% sea water, until new steadystate conditions had been reached. About 10 to 12 h after transfer, a new steady state of total osmoconcentration as well as of the concentrations of the most representative cations Na, K, Ca, and Mg was attained. The hemolymph contents of Na and total osmotically active substances of the North and Adriatic Sea populations are significantly different when they are long-term acclimated to sea water and to 50% sea water. Total sodium fluxes, as calculated from influx and outflux experiments, are in the range 12.1 to 15.2 M Na/g/h in both species when acclimated to sea water. In 50% sea water, sodium fluxes are retarded, especially in C. maenas (6.6 M Na/g/h). This value is significantly lower than the corresponding value in C. mediterraneus (11.4 M Na/g/h). Differences are discussed on the basis of adaptation of the populations to their different environments.     

Physiological responses of Nodularia harveyana to osmotic stress

The effects of salinity stress on biomass yield, photosynthetic O₂ evolution and nitrogenase activity were investigated using axenic cultures of Nodularia harveyana (Thwaites) Thuret originally isolated from a salt marsh at Gibraltar Point, Lincolnshire, UK in 1971 and studied in this laboratory in 1983. Biomass yields, as chlorophyll a per culture, were highest in the 0 to 100% seawater (0 to 35 sea salt) range with negligible growth in 200% seawater; growth on NH ₄ ⁺ was greater than on N₂ and NO ₃ ^- , which did not differ significantly from each other. In short-term experiments, photosynthetic O₂ evolution remained high at salinities up to 150% seawater (52.5 sea salt); nitrogenase activity remained high at salinities up to 100% seawater (35 sea salt). The major internal low molecular weight carbohydrate which accumulated in response to increased salinity was sucrose, the levels of which fluctuated markedly and rapidly in response to salinity change.     

Competitive role of calcium in sodium transport in the crab carcinus mediterraneus Acclimated to low salinities

Influence of calcium on sodium fluxes was investigated in the brackish-water crab Carcinus mediterraneus Csrn., after activation of sodium regulatory mechanisms, during longterm acclimation in diluted (15.9 S) sea water. The ²²Na outflux constants measured in whole crabs are noticeably lower (0.188 to 0.374h^-1) in diluted sea water enriched by calcium (5.8 to 10.4 mM Ca²⁺/l), than in ordinary diluted sea water (0.545 h^-1). The sodium-outflux constants in hemolymph, gills and muscle show the same trend of slower exchange of ²²Na in calcium-enriched sea water. In ordinary sea water, the total sodium-outflux rate from the hemolymph amounts to 46.31 M Na/g/h, while in calcium-enriched sea water (8.23 mM Ca²⁺/l) it is inhibited, amounting to 13.86 M Na/g/h. Sodium and potassium concentrations of intracellular muscles in diluted sea water enriched with calcium and control diluted sea water are similar. The outflux of intracellular sodium from the muscle amounts to 2.84 M Na/g/h in crabs acclimated to diluted sea water.     

Survival and chloride ion regulation of the porcelain crab Petrolisthes armatus exposed to mercury

Acute toxicity bioassays conducted at various salinities demonstrated that mercury (as mercuric chloride) at low concentrations was lethal to Petrolisthes armatus. Ninety-six hour LC₅₀ values varied from 50 to 64 parts per billion (ppb) of mercury, depending on test salinities. Lower salinities. decreased the time to death of mercuryexposed crabs. Differences in survival after 96 h due to salinity were not statistically significant. Blood chloride concentrations were regulated hyperchloride to the medium at low salinities and hypochloride at high salinities by acclimated crabs. The salinity isochloride to blood was 20 S. Transfer of crabs from 15 S to salinities ranging from 7 to 35 S resulted in new steadystate chloride levels within 12 h. Exposure to 50 ppb mercury did not alter chloride ion regulation of either acclimated crabs or crabs adjusting to new salinities.     

Effects of salinity on respiration and nitrogen excretion in two species of echinoderms

The 30-d survival limit of Eupentacta quinquesemita and Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis is 12–13 S. The activity coefficient (1 000/righting time in seconds) of stepwise acclimated sea urchins declined from 16.3 at 30 S to 3.5 at 15 S. Oxygen consumption rates (QO₂) of both species held at 30 S and 13°C were highest in June and lowest in December. During the summer, when environmental salinity is most variable in southeastern Alaska, the QO₂ of both species held at 30, 20 and 15 S varied directly with salinity. Perivisceral fluid PO₂ varied directly with acclimation salinity in sea urchins, but not in sea cucumbers. Perivisceral fluid oxygen content of acclimated sea urchins was significantly lower at 15 and 20 S than at 30 S due to reduced PO₂ and extracellular fluid volume at the lower salinities. The QO₂ of both species varied directly with ambient salinity during a 30-10-30. semidiurnal pattern of fluctuating salinity. No change occurred in the average QO₂ of either species over a 15-30-15. semidiurnal pattern of fluctuating salinity. Sea urchin perivisceral fluid PO₂ declined as ambient salinity fluctuated away from the acclimation salinity in both cycles and increased as ambient salinity returned to the acclimation salinity. Total nitrogen excretion of stepwise acclimated sea cucumbers declined significantly from 30 to 15 S, but there was no salinity effect on total nitrogen excretion in sea urchins. Ammonia excretion varied directly with salinity in stepwise acclimated sea cucumbers (67–96% of total nitrogen excreted), but there was no salinity effect on ammonia excretion (89–95% of total nitrogen excreted) of sea urchins. Urea excretion did not vary with salinity in sea cucumbers (2–4% of total nitrogen excreted) or sea urchins (2–9% of total nitrogen excreted). Primary amines varied inversely with salinity in sea cucumbers (2–30% of total nitrogen excreted), but did not vary with salinity in sea urchins (2–4% of total nitrogen excreted). The oxygen: nitrogen ratio of both species indicated that carbohydrate and/or lipid form the primary catabolic substrate. The O:N ratio did not vary as a function of salinity. Both species are more tolerant to reduced salinity than previously reported, however, rates of oxygen consumption and/or nitrogen excretion are modified by salinity as well as season.     

Stepwise acclimation—a method for estimating the potential euryhalinity of the gastropod Hydrobia ulvae

The White Sea gastropod Hydrobia ulvae (Pennant) was exposed to step-wise lowering or increase of the habitat salinity. The time allowed for acclimatization to the successive salinity levels was sufficient to complete non-genetic adaptation. In this way, the lower and upper salinity limits were extended. The tolerance limits obtained are assumed to be indicative of the capacity for non-genetic adaptation and to serve as a genotypical characteristic. The tolerance of specimens colleced from in situ conditions (mid littoral, 20 S) ranged between 14 and 34 S. After non-genetic adaptation, the lower tolerance value shifted to 6 S (adaptation limit), and the upper value to 76 S (final limit not reached). There is no reason for considering White Sea H. ulvae to represent a special physiological race of specimens from those on the coast of Great Britain.     

Vanadium transfer in the mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis

Radiotracers were used to study processes controlling the accumulation and elimination of vanadium in the Mediterranean mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis. Vanadium uptake rates varied inversely with both salinity and vanadium concentration in water, but were independent of temperature. After a 3 wk exposure to ⁴⁸V, the highest concentration factors were found in the byssus (1900) with much lower values computed for shell ( 70) and soft tissues (5). More than 90% of the total ⁴⁸V accumulated was fixed to shell, suggesting that uptake is primarily a result of surface sorption processes. Much of the vanadium in shell was firmly bound to the periostracum and was not easily removed by acid leaching. Food-chain experiments indicated that the assimilation coefficient for ingested vanadium is low (7%) and that the assimilated fraction is rapidly excreted from the mussel. These findings coupled with knowledge of in situ and experimentally-derived vanadium concentration-factors have allowed a preliminary assessment of the relative importance of the food and water pathways in the contamination of mussels under conditions of acute and chronic exposure. Contaminated mussels transferred to clean sea water lost ⁴⁸V at rates that depended upon temperature but were largely unaffected by either salinity or by vanadium levels in mussel tissues. Total vanadium depuration was slow and was governed by loss from a slowly-exchanging compartment with a characteristic half-time of about 100 d. Individual mussel tissues were analyzed for stable vanadium and the possibility of using these tissues, particularly the byssus, as bioindicators of ambient vanadium levels in the marine environment is also discussed.     

Adaptations to osmotic stress in the fresh-water euryhaline teleost Tilapia mossambica. IV. Changes in blood glucose,liver glycogen and muscle glycogen levels

Some aspects of osmoregulation energetics have been studied in the euryhaline teleost Tilapia mossambica (Peters) acclimated to media of different salinities. In stress media (75 and 100% sea water) the blood glucose of the fish increases significantly, accompanied by a corresponding increase in oxygen consumption and cytochrome-oxidase activity, suggesting that oxidative degradation of blood glucose is the predominant energy source for osmotic work in these stress media. It is likely that the variations in the blood-glucose level as a function of acclimation to the heterosmotic media —except the natural fresh-water medium — are governed by the combined effects of salinity of the medium and blood-medium osmotic gradient, rather than by the effect of any one of them separately. Perhaps, metabolic homoeostasis is in operation in the natural fresh-water medium. Depletion of muscle glycogen at significant levels is noticed only in stress media. Presumably, there is an augmentation of oxidative metabolism with glycolysis to meet the exacting energy demands for heavy osmotic work in high-stress media. Prior acclimation to 75% sea water (24.375 S) facilitates subsequent acclimation to 100% sea water (32.50 S) with less energy cost —an instance of facilitation acclimation. Smaller individuals of T. mossambica osmoregulate with less energy expenditure than larger ones. Thus, smaller individuals are osmotically more efficient.     

Entrainment of the larval release rhythm of the crab Rhithropanopeus harrisii (Brachyura: Xanthidae) by cycles in salinity change

Influences of salinity, Na, K, Ca and Mg on Na–K-ATPase activity in the posterior gills of Carcinus maenas (L.) have been investigated with respect to the role of the enzyme in hyperosmotic regulation. K and Mg ions were obligatory for enzyme activity. The dependence on the K concentration can be seen in a saturation curve of the Michaelis-Menten type. Low concentrations of Ca (0.2–3 mM) in the incubation medium strongly inhibited Na–K-ATPase activity. Activities inhibited by Ca could be reactivated to non-inhibited values by the addition of higher amounts of Mg (25 mM). Activity increased along with the salinity of the sea water used as incubation medium up to about 10 S. Here, maximum activity was observed. Further salinity increases of the incubating sea water were inhibitory. Salinity dependence is assumed to be based on Na dependence of the Na-pump. Comparative investigations of the Na–K-ATPase activity and its affinity to sodium in five species of decapod crustaceans indicated that levels of Na–K-ATPase differed in the posterior gills of stenohaline and euryhaline species. The results obtained confirm previous assumptions of a central role of the branchial Na–K-ATPase in hyperosmotic regulation. Properties of the Na–K-ATPase, such as affinity for substrates or dependence on ionic sea water constituents, are kept constant with respect to salinity changes. Modifications due to salinity only concern enzyme amounts especially in the posterior gills. The finding that the Na-pump is localized in basolateral parts of ion-transporting epithelial cells confirms the aforementioned results.     

Effects of sulfide exposure history and hemolymph thiosulfate on oxygen-consumption rates and regulation in the hydrothermal vent crab Bythograea thermydron

The hydrothermal vent crab Bythograea thermydron is exposed to high environmental concentrations of sulfide and low levels of oxygen for extended periods of time. It has previously been shown that hydrogen sulfide is oxidized to the relatively non-toxic thiosulfate (S₂O ₃ ^2– ), which accumulates in the hemolymph. Hemolymph thiosulfate levels in freshly captured crabs vary significantly among crabs from different hydrothermal vent sites as well as between crabs from different microhabitats within the same site. Hemolymph thiosulfate concentrations were not significantly different between crabs captured at the same site 6 mo apart. Hemolymph thiosulfate concentrations ranged from 66 mol 1^–1 in a crab captured at a site with relatively low sulfide venting, to 3206 mol 1^–1 in an individual that was netted from an active smoker vent with much higher sulfide exposure. The differences in hemolymph thiosulfate between sites and the stability of hemolymph thiosulfate in crabs captured at the same site at different times suggest that sulfide exposure is significantly different between sites and that this exposure may not vary significantly over the course of a few months. B. thermydron experimentally exposed to sulfide had high levels of thiosulfate in their hemolymph and increased abilities to regulate oxygen consumption in conditions of low oxygen. This enhancement of regulatory abilities suggests that the previously demonstrated increased hemocyaninoxygen (Hc–O₂) affinity due to elevated thiosulfate may be adaptive in vivo. Average oxygen-consumption rates were much higher in crabs experimentally exposed to sulfide than in unexposed crabs. Crabs injected with isosmotic thiosulfate did not have increased oxygen-consumption rates as did the sulfide-exposed individuals, but did show a similar reduction in P _c (the critical partial pressure of oxygen at which crabs can no longer regulate oxygen consumption). This suggests that it is the sulfide exposure and/or detoxification rather than the elimination of thiosulfate that causes the increase in metabolic rate. Thiosulfate diffuses into dead crabs and into live crabs exposed to 15 mmol S₂O ₃ ^2- l^–1, indicating substantial permeability, and yet live crabs are able to eliminate thiosulfate when incubated in sea water containing 1.5 mmol S₂O ₃ ^2- l^–1, suggesting a process that has an active component.     

Effects of environmental stressors on blood-glucose levels in sea hares,Aplysia dactylomela

Effects of natural stressors such as tidepool strandings, air exposure, and low salinity on blood-glucose levels were investigated in the sea hare Aplysia dactylomela from shallow areas of Discovery Bay, Jamaica. All treatments produced large and significant elevations in blood-glucose titre, 1.5-to 2.3-fold above baseline levels of 25 to 35 g glucose ml^-1. Response times were variable, with significant elevations being manifested within 30 to 120 min from initiation of the stressor. Recovery was swift, within an hour or two of restoration to pretreatment conditions, and often involved an undershoot to levels below control values. In two experiments involving tidepool strandings and associated high body-temperatures, excessively low blood-glucose titres were followed by death of all test individuals. When sea hares were exposed to 75 and 50% seawater (100%=33S) for 1 h, maximum elevation in blood-glucose concentrations occurred 1 to 2 h from onset of exposure, coincidental with maximum dilution of the body fluids of test individuals. The responsiveness of blood-glucose titres to relatively small temperature or salinity changes, or to short-duration air exposures, suggests that monitoring this physiological parameter may be a useful and sensitive means of diagnosing a wide variety of stressors in marine gastropods.     

Influence of salinity on eggs,sperm and larvae of low-vertebral herring reproducing in the coastal waters of the Soviet Union

Clupea harengus pallasi deposit their eggs in the coastal zone, which is the most dynamic part of the sea in respect to its regime. Salimity is one of the most variable factors on the spawning grounds. Observations were made in the seas of the European North and Far East, and in experiments where salinities varied from 0 to 70. Study of the influence of salinity on the development of sea herring eggs is of interest for several reasons. Firstly, salinity fluctuation patterns differ in different parts of a given habitat. In each area inhabited, salinity boundaries exist within which eggs can develop normally. Secondly, the levels of limiting salinities on spawning grounds differ noticeably in different seas. Hence, attention was paid to population-specific differences in the responses of eggs to salinity. Finally, detailed knowledge on the responses of sexual cells to low-salinity conditions helps to elucidate the ecological situation in areas with reduced salinity, and the reproductive potential of the population considered. Sexual cells of numerous populations of Pacific herring are capable of fertilization over a wide range of salinities. Fertilizability in low salinities and, partially, also in high salinities, reveals a population specificity. The responses of the eggs ofC. harengus pallasi to reduced salinities differ from those ofC. harengus harengus. Osmotic resistance of eggs to low salinities is considerably higher in the first-mentioned subspecies. Under salinity stress, eggs reveal individual differences which are not seen under optimum conditions of salinity. In all populations studied, responses to salinity change during embryology.     

Initiation of feeding and salinity tolerance in the pacific lamprey Lampetra tridentata

Changes in salinity tolerance were determined during metamorphosis in Lampetra tridentata. Lampreys in Phase 5 of metamorphosis were unable to withstand salinities>13.4S, while those in Phase 6 survived direct transfer to sea water (30S). This abrupt change in tolerance coincided with the opening of the foregut lumen. Parasitic feeding began at the end of Phase 7 of metamorphosis following the completion of tooth development.     

Effects of tidal fluctuations of salinity on pericardial fluid composition of the American oyster Crassostrea virginica

Crassostrea virginica Gmelin were subjected to simulated tidal fluctuations of salinity, and the subsequent effects on osmotic and ionic composition of the pericardial fluid, body water and valve movements were investigated. Ambient salinity fluctuation patterns of 20-10-20, 15-10-15 and 10-5-10 were simulated during 24.8-h periods. An additional 10-5-10 S experiment was performed using a dilution water approximating the ionic composition of Mississippi River water with regard to Mg⁺⁺, Ca⁺⁺ and SO ₄ ⁼ , instead of deionized water. Finally the effects of a 2-week diurnal fluctuation pattern between 20 and 10 S were investigated with respect to pericardial fluid composition. Pericardial fluid osmolality, concentrations of Cl^-, Na⁺, Mg⁺⁺, K⁺, Ca⁺⁺ and ninhydrin-positive substances (NPS) were analyzed periodically throughout all experiments. Pericardial fluid osmolality was slightly hyperosmotic as ambient water salinity decreased during a cycle, and then became slightly hyposmotic as ambient salinity increased. In the 2-week experiment, pericardial fluid osmolality tracked ambient seawater closely through Day 5, but became more intermediate between high and low seawater values as the experiment progressed. Similar patterns during fluctuations of salinity were observed for Na⁺, Cl^-, Mg⁺⁺ and Ca⁺⁺. Pericardial fluid K⁺ levels did not track ambient seawater as closely as did other ions. The ionic composition of dilution water had little effect on the osmotic or ionic response of the oyster's pericardial fluid. Pericardial fluid NPS level varied inversely with salinity during the 20-10-20 cycle. During the longterm fluctuation experiment, NPS values gradually decreased over the 2-week period compared to constant salinity control values. Percent body water also varied inversely with ambient salinity. Solute movement accounted for most of the change in pericardial fluid osmolality during the simulated cycles with water movement responsible for 1 to 11%. Water movement contributed more to the change of pericardial fluid osmolality during the decreasing salinity phase than the increasing phase of a given cycle. During 20-10-20 S cycles, oyster valves remained open 56% of the time (n=23). In contrast, when salinity was abruptly changed from 20 to 10 within 5 min, valve closure occurred in 4.8±0.3 min (n=20). Valves did not reopen for 19.3±1.2 h (n=15).     

Notes on some factors affecting aggressive behaviour in Carcinus mediterraneus

The relationships between aggressive behaviour and animal density and between aggressive behaviour and metabolic excretion have been investigated in Carcinus mediterraneus Czerniavsky. Increasing the crab density by increasing the number of crabs or reducing the available area revealed that the aggressive interactions perindividual did not increase. The frequency of interactions reached a maximum in several minutes following the introduction of crabs. Individuals isolated between 6 and 24 h were more aggressive than non-isolated ones. The water in which a group of crabs had been held had an inhibitory effect (not abolished by commercial aquarium filters) on aggressiveness of pairs of crabs grater than plain water or water in which single crabs had been kept. No home-group effect was observed. The effect of group water was enhanced by increasing the concentration of crabs in the duration of confinement, and it is probably due to the accumulation of catabolites in the medium. Crabs kept in groups had a greater excretion than isolated crabs and the nitrogen oupput decreased with an increase in the number of crabs or whith a decrease in the size of the tank (with a constant volume of water and number of crabs).     

Organic solute accumulation in osmotically-stressed Enteromorpha intestinalis

The role of organic solutes in the osmotic adjustment processes of the marine macroalga Enteromorpha intestinalis (L.) Link was investigated in 1986, using fresh samples collected from mid-shore rock pools at Tayport, Fife, Scotland. Natural-abundance ¹³C nuclear magnetic-resonance spectroscopy revealed -dimethylsulphoniopropionate (DMSP) to be the only major low molecular weight organic osmolyte present. However, on transfer to a hypersaline medium (300% sea water; 100%=35 S), tissue sucrose and proline levels increased markedly, while DMSP remained constant. Recovery of optimal photosynthetic activity and increases in inorganic ion levels occurred over a similar time scale to the changes in sucrose and proline (within 48 h), indicating that these two organic solutes are involved in hyperosmotic adjustment in E. intestinalis while DMSP is not. Freshly-collected plants transferred to 300% sea water medium in the dark showed no significant increases in organic osmolytes. In contrast, starch-enrichment (16 d continuous illumination) led to enhanced synthesis of sucrose and proline in the light and in darkness, but tissue DMSP levels showed no variation throughout. These observations suggest that DMSP is not involved in short-term osmoacclimation in E. intestinalis.